darcshadow

replacing the mother board with an arduino won't make the MH any better. You might be able to program smoother acceleration that might help slightly, but not enough to make it worth it. To make the MH truely better you'd need to replace the motors to start, get better rollers, bearings, belts, etc. Depending on what you're doing the MH can do quite well, and you will get a better understanding of all the little settings and tweaks can have an impact on the results that would be masked by a higher end machine. If you can exchange it with out much cost go for it, but don't be disheartened if you have to keep it. It has served me well for several years although I only use it as a hobby and don't usually make anything too big.

If it was a higher end cutter the USB cable would be better, but this is a MH, that the USB connection is nothing more than a cheap USB to serial adapter chip. So using the comm port on the computer is better and more reliable because you do not need to convert between USB and serial communications. And just because something is old does not mean it's out dated. The 9pin comm port is frequently used for all kinds of test equipment because it is so simple, and supported by nearly all operating systems. The only thing that makes it outdated is the fact that so many computer manufactures today do not put a comm port on the mother board but instead expect people to use a USB to serial adapter which also then requires a 3rd party driver which is just one more thing to not work.

Interesting, that appears to be telling you how to change the baud rate setting on the cutter. So I'd say, since your software can't be set to anything lower than 9600, to check the setting on the cutter and set it to 9600 if it is not already. I am running Win7, using Inkscape to cut, connected with a comm cable and have mine set to 9600 and it works just fine. Something about the USB driver might require the slower speed, and is why it's specified in that document.

He's using the comm cable connection so the suggestions regarding USB will not be relevant. 9600 baud should work and is what is called out in the users manual. Might double check the setting on the cutter, although I can't find anything in the manual telling you how to change it so it might not be something that can be changed/checked. Using the comm cable, the driver shouldn't matter either. The driver is for the USB connection.

If the force is light enough it won't, but it won't cut well either, as you've discovered.

I'd have to double check the spec sheet, but I believe vinyl is recommended to be stored at about 65 and below 75. Don't remember exactly, I just remember it was a pretty small range and colder than I typically keep my house in the summer time.

Getting the blade depth set correctly and then the blade offset will very likely solve your problems. Blade offset should be around 0.2mm I believe.

NOOOOOOO! Never EVER have that much blade sticking out. If you can easily see the blade you have too much. Look for Mz Skeeter's instructions on these forums on how to set the blade depth, been posted hundreds of times. The majority of your problems sounds like your cutting into the backing paper which will be solved by setting the blade depth correctly. If you're just doing a shirt for yourself or a friend you can "get by" with an iron. But if you're going to be selling shirts you need a proper press. Also keep in mind the MH is pretty much the bottom of the barrel. It is what I have, and it can be made to work quite well but you do have to do quite a bit of tweaking and learning to get it to perform well.

I was able to open the file with Inkscape, which is free. For a long time I would use Inkscape to create the design then copy and paste into SB to do the cutting. Not ideal but it worked. I eventually figured out how to cut straight from Inkscape, although it does not have any of the features that a true cutting program has it will get the job done. If I ever get serious about this hobby I might buy a true cutting program, till thing Inkscape and SB have served me well.

I too do not use Vinyl Master, but your setting of units per inch, assuming you have a stepper motor machine, is usually referring to number of steps of the stepper motor and 1016 is in the neighborhood of what it should be so I don't believe that number is something you should change. Until someone chimes in with anything better, I'd simply make your design then scale it down before cutting. The beauty of vector graphics they can be scaled up and down with no loss of detail.

Yes, the welding is a different matter but will need to be done. It can be done before or after the punch through, doesn't make much difference. I may have made my original statement too wordy.Here's how I would do it in Inkscape Step one, weld the script font - Select all the script text and do a Union (Ctrl++). Step two, hit ctrl+D to duplicate the script font. Step Three, hold down ctrl and select the C Step Four do a difference command, (Ctrl+-) Done.

Yeah, both are discussed in that thread.

The search function is your friend.

I also just noticed that in the PDF anyway, the letters are all individual. Prior to cutting you'll want to weld them all together so you get a clean cut.

Yeah, true, Inkscape can be a bit daunting, a handy tool to have though. To achieve the desired effect in Inkscape you need to duplicate the wording that crosses the C, then select the wording and the C and do a Difference command. The duplicated wording will be deleted and you will be left with the original words and the C cut out where the words cross over it. The difference command uses the layers of objects to determine how it behaves. The object on top will be deleted and will cut through the lower object.

RedSail RS720C will work for you.

You could just layer the wording over the C without cutting the C. There will be a slight bump at the edges of the C, but unless you're really looking close it wouldn't be noticeable Inkscape is another good free program for designing vector images.

After you do the break apart, keep the text selected and then do the union. Below is what it should look like after the break apart. You can see the distressed stuff inside the font is selected along with the rest of the font, with all this selected if you do the union the internal distressed stuff will disappear. After Union

If this is something you plan to do often in the future, it might be worth it to download a font editing program and create a new version of the font with the interior distresses removed so that in the future you can simply type out what you want and it'll look the way you want without any further editing.

In Inkscape, if your text is still text, select it and choose Path->Object to Path. The text will now be a group of objects. Ungroup the newly converted text Select your text then choose Path->Break Apart Now choose Path->Union This will remove all the white spaces inside the letters. Unfortunately, this will also remove the inside of letters like A, O, R, P so if you have those letters you'll need to edit those manually and delete individual nodes.

Because the problem is so predictable I do not believe static is the issue. And since the only thing that has really changed is the computer upgrade I'd focus there. Do you have another computer you could try, or one you could borrow to try? Have you tried different software? Does it do it even on a really simple design like a square?

Something else you might want to consider going forward. Once you finalize your design you might consider saving it off/exporting it as an EPS, SVG, or AI file, something that is "standard" among most vector programs so that in the future if you ever do want to or need to change software you will still have access to all your old designs.

You said you tested removing the 651, how long did you leave it on the wall though? That'd be my only concern with using 651, a year or two down the road you might not be able to remove it without damaging the wall.

Do you frequently plug and unplug the USB from the plotter? Sounds a little like the USB port on the plotter is starting to fail.

Programs like to store stuff in the Users/<username>/AppData folder a lot these days and it doesn't always get deleted when a program is uninstalled. Might try looking there to see if there is a log file. It's just a log file though, doesn't have any impact on anything other than a very small amount of disk space.